North Korea tests cluster-bomb warhead amid border tension

According to a report by The Hindu, North Korea has tested cluster-bomb warheads. This information was reported by the official state media on Sunday, 1 November 2026. This is the latest test in a series of weapons exercises underway for some time aimed at training soldiers to use these weapons. According to a report by the official Korean Central News Agency, this test was conducted on Saturday, 31 October 2026.

This test comes at a time when nuclear-armed North Korea has recently tested various weapons including attack drones, a new precision-guided torpedo system, and a medium-range hypersonic missile. This move also comes against the backdrop of a landmine explosion on the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas, in which three South Korean soldiers were injured. The North has denied involvement in this explosion and vowed to further strengthen border areas and restart the loudspeaker campaign.

Saturday's test was conducted to evaluate the combat capability and adaptability of the cluster-bomb warhead to be mounted on tactical ballistic missiles. Officials stated that this test confirmed that this weapon is capable of turning a target area of 12 to 13 hectares into ashes with its maximum density power. The General Directorate of Missile Administration of North Korea stated that within this year it will enable units to select and use all these types of weapons according to operational purposes and the specific characteristics of the targets.

Photographs released by the Korean Central News Agency showed a projectile launched from a mobile launcher with an orange exhaust plume. Another image showed multiple cluster-bomb impacts on an island target. According to the report, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not present on Saturday, although earlier in April he, along with his daughter Ju Ae, oversaw the test-launch of a cluster-bomb warhead mounted on a ballistic missile.